The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) is a United States Federal legislation enacted by the 404th United States Congress and introduced by President William Clinton on August 21, 1996. The primary purpose of HIPAA is to protect private health information of patients. HIPAA was established as part of the National Health Information Technology Act (Niahtah Resolution) of 1996, which is a compromise between two different legislative proposals namely the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Privacy and Electronic Support for Patients (EASPI) Act. The main features of HIPAA are:
– Sets standards for protected health information of patients. – Sets regulations for covered entities to provide notice to patients and their families in the case of unauthorized disclosures of protected health information. – Requires annual HIPAA training for covered entities.
– Prohibits certain types of identity theft and deceptive practices like impersonating a covered entity. – Sets national standards for pre-existing conditions. – Allows patient portals to be used to make application for health insurance. – Authorizes carriers to provide electronic health records. – Authorizes privacy and disclosure requirements for medical treatments prescribed to a patient already under a Medicare or Medicaid program.
The implementation of HIPAA legislation has brought changes in the field of health care in the United States. Several private health insurance companies and websites have implemented some features of HIPAA in order to comply with the federal regulations. Websites that are not HIPAA compliant will be removed from the Internet. Websites that are found to have information not required by the privacy rules will face fines. A penalty will be applied by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to any person who fails to take action within 180 days.
The Privacy Rule established by HIPAA makes it easier for the Federal Government and private sector healthcare providers to share information. According to the Privacy Rule, covered entities are allowed to share general personal information about their clients with other healthcare providers. They may only use this personal information for specified purposes. This rule was put into place to regulate the safekeeping of patients’ personal healthcare information.
Another regulation of the HIPAA privacy rule is the National Clearinghouse for Health Information Technology (NCHTI). The NCHTI coordinates the nationwide implementation of HIPAA regulations. It is the official source for clearinghouse information on personal health information. According to the NCHTI, all national standards set by the HIPAA must be complied with. All guidelines provided by the National Clearinghouse for Health Information Technology (NCIT) must be implemented.
There are several providers of patient healthcare services. According to their individual policies and guidelines, they may not share patient medical records with other third parties. In addition to that, there are still other considerations before companies may start sharing personal health information. Many companies still adhere to the prior-mentioned regulations of the HIPAA. The companies are also required to adhere to the rules and regulations of the national standards organizations like the NPI.
Another regulation that pertains to HIPAA is the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The Fair Credit Reporting Act also regulates private healthcare providers and how they handle the personal health data of their clients. According to the FCRA, insurers are required to give their clients certain reports that will help them determine if their clients are protected from identity theft or fraud. This is also an important regulation to ensure proper credit reporting for both the insured and the beneficiary of the policy. If an insurer violates the terms of the FCRA, the U.S. Department of Justice can sue them.
Privacy Rule is another regulation designed to protect the privacy of individuals. It covers how healthcare providers to process the personal health information of a client. It was developed in order to prevent healthcare providers from releasing personally identifiable health information to third parties without permission. According to the Privacy Rule, insurers must inform patients and their authorized representatives about what personal health information they will be releasing to third parties and that those persons will be doing with the information once it is released. It also requires that insurers provide notice to the individual that they will be releasing the information and the individuals have the right to review the personal health information prior to its release.
The third regulation refers to the HIPAA Privacy Rule. The Privacy Rule does not affect third parties; however, it does affect the privacy of the individual undergoing treatment. According to the HIPAA Privacy Rule, health information may be shared by healthcare providers with specified parties, except for the patient’s authorized representative, if any. However, third parties are not allowed to use that information for their own commercial advantage. In addition, third parties are not allowed to disclose the patient’s protected health information to third parties for their own financial benefit.
Apart from the three regulations mentioned above, the HIPAA Privacy Rule specifically requires that covered entities to inform their clients and authorized representatives of the types of disclosures that may be made as part of their HIPAA insurance plans. Furthermore, the covered entities must disclose the types of disclosures in detail and in the format that clients can use. If a covered entity fails to comply with the HIPAA Privacy Rule, then they face fines, or in some cases, the disclosure of their protected health information could be limited. If a covered entity is found in violation of the HIPAA Privacy Rule, they must notify the US Department of Education and pay a penalty.